Aspartame, diet drinks etc #foodie friday

Coverage of this issue is in the New York Times again…so I’m sharing a post I did on it a while back because it includes how it’s particularly significant to mental health. Artificial sweeteners are problematic in multiples ways.

First I’ll share an excerpt from the New York Times this week:

Artificial Sweeteners May Disrupt Body’s Blood Sugar Controls

Artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, causing metabolic changes that can be a precursor to diabetes, researchers are reporting.

That is “the very same condition that we often aim to prevent” by consuming sweeteners instead of sugar, said Dr. Eran Elinav, an immunologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, at a news conference to discuss the findings…. (read more here)

And here’s the post from the last time I shared it:

This post was already written when a new round of news about why diet sodas are so bad hit the media again a couple of days ago. Among all the other reasons as stated below, aspartame and artificial sweeteners also mess with your metabolism in unexpected ways.

See  Do Diet Drinks Mess Up Metabolisms? from NPR

It may seem counterintuitive, but there’s a body of evidence to suggest that the millions of Americans with a diet soda habit may not be doing their waistlines — or their blood sugar — any favors.

As the consumption of diet drinks made with artificial sweeteners continues to rise, researchers are beginning to make some uncomfortable associations with weight gain and other diseases. (listen or read more)

And there are many other reasons to avoid artificially sweetened foods, too.

If you google excitotoxin or aspartame poisoning you can find much more on this toxic substance.

–

–

In her piece: BIPOLAR off meds success, Jazz traces her experiences with mania that led to a bogus bipolar diagnosis to consuming large quantities of diet soda. I’ve talked to others who have made this connection with their own “mood-disorders.”

From Jazz:

In my reading, I also came across some information about the artificial sweetener Aspartame being implicated in mood disorders. When I thought back over my own history, I realized that my mood swings had started in college, soon after I’d turned to diet soda as a study aid. I’d never liked coffee or tea, and didn’t want the calories in regular soda, so Diet Coke became my drug of choice. More importantly, those mood swings had stopped when I’d stopped drinking Diet Coke.

She has since been officially undiagnosed, see: “Bipolar” Off Meds Success

I stick to one guiding principle in my diet. If nature didn’t make it I don’t eat it. There are also some things that nature makes that I’ve discovered I have sensitivities to. I’ve learned the hard way to pay attention to everything I put in my body.

Eating wholesome whole real food is important for body/mind/spirit health and well-being. I’ve written a lot about my adventure with diet and healing here:  Nutrition and gut health, Mental health and diet

And you can find more Foodie Friday posts and recipes here.